Kenn Russell dies at age 84!

On November 27th 2011 one of Britain's most prolific directors "Kenn Russell" died at age 84! Kenn Russell was born as "Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell" on July 3rd 1927. He was best known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his controversial style. Kenn Russell was criticised as being over-obsessed with sexuality and the church as seen in his movie "The Devils" from 1971. His subject matter was often about famous composers, or based on other works of art which he adapted loosely. Russell began directing for the BBC, where he did creative adaptations of composers' lives which were unusual for the time. He also directed many feature films independently and for studios. The director is best known for his Oscar-winning film "Women in Love" (1969), "The Who's Tommy (1975), and the science fiction film "Altered States" (1980). To fans of Marisa Mell he will be fondly remembered as the director of the 1964 movie "French Dressing". Although a big flop at the British and international box office this movie is for me one of the most hilariously funny movies that I have ever seen in the vain of the "Comedy Capers" from the silent era! It also shows Marisa Mell from a very different angle as a very funny comedic actress rather than the sexy starlet that she portrays in the movie. Sadly after this movie Marisa Mell never again did such a comedic role again in her career!

Amori, Letti...e Tradimenti!

When you are trying to collect all the movies of Marisa Mell you can devide her movies in several categories. "Category I"-movies are the most common ones like "Danger: Diabolik!" or "Una Sull'Altra". Those movies are readly available and can be optained via the usual DVD merchants in every DVD territory of the world. Then you have the "Category II"-movies. Those movies are also readly available but mostly restricted to one territory or another, often having a different DVD cover depending on the region of the world where it has been issued but the content is often the same like "Casanova 70" or "Casanova & C°"! You can buy those movies on the internet at regional DVD merchants. Then it is getting a little more difficult with the "Category III"-movies. Those are the movies that have not been officially issued on DVD, anywhere in the world but are only available through the help of other Marisa Mell fans! They have optained these movies from several different sources like commercial broadcast, satelite-television or rips of old VHS-tapes. Those movies are often heavily cut, out of sync, grainy, hard coded subtitled... In this category you have movies like "Le Dolci Signore" or "City of Fear". Next you have the "Category IV"-movies! These are the really hard to get ones! Never on DVD, VHS-tape or even broadcast on local television. And if they had a broadcast on television it was way before the common use of videorecorders! Finding a copy of these movies like "Einen Mann im schönsten Alter" or "La Tempesta" is like striking gold! And then... you have the Holy Grail! For me it is having a copy of the German quiz show "Dalli Dalli" from the beginning of the 80's broadcast on the second German TV-station ZDF. Unfortunately the ZDF could not find a copy of this programme in their video archives but in German they say "Die Hoffnung stirbt zu letzt!" So I keep my fingers crossed that one day I can hold a copy of that quiz show in my hands.

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Since a few weeks you can order through the Italian DVD merchants a copy of the "Category II-movie "Amori, Letti... e Tradimenti" from 1975. This movie was since decades not available and can be labeled under the "Italian Sexy Movie" category in the vain of the other Marisa Mell movie "La liceale al mare con l'amica di papa".

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Thanks to André Schneider for pointing out the availability of this movie in Italy!

Alors, Chérie, tu crois me connaître?

CARTE D’IDENTITE

Date et lieu de naissance?

24 février 1941, à Vienne (Autriche)

Signe du zodiaque?

Poissons

Taille?

1m70

Poids?

89 kilos

Cheveux?

chatain foncé

Yeux?

verts

Domicile?

Paris (XVI) et Bâle

Maison de campagne?

en Autriche

VIE PRIVEE

Situation de famille?

célibataire

Etudes?

commerciales

Etablissement scolaire?

couvent des soeurs de Vienne (Autriche)

Langues étrangères?

Allemand, Anglais, Français et Italiens

Club?

Diner’s Club

Voiture?

taxis

Sports?

equitation et escrime

Jeux?

interdits

Violon d’ingres?

les antiquaires

Caractère?

presque optimiste

Qualité dominante?

trés bonne

Défaut?

trop bonne

Aptitudes diverses?

dessin et danse

Manie?

horreur des maniaques

Complexes?

timidité

Loisirs?

dormir

Vacances?

le soleil et la mer

Qu’est-ce qui vous exalte?

la musique

Qu’est-ce qui vous revolte?

l’avarice

Que craignez-vous?

la mort

Que fumez-vous?

Winston

Quels bijoux portes-vous?

ceux que j’ai

Quelles fourrures?

deux visons, un leopard, deux breitschwanz, un chinchilla

Avez-vous un fétich?

il s’appelle Baby Mell

Avez-vous un devise?

dévorer la vie à belles dents

Quelle est votre tenue préférée?

robe tahitienne et mini-jupe

Votre moyen de locomotion favori?

mes jambes

(j’ai horreur de l’avion)

Etes-vous matinale?

à partir de midi

Etes-vous noctambule?

pas du tout

Quelle collection faites-vous?

aucune

Etes-vous superstitieuse?

affreusement

CARRIERE

Cours dramatiques?

ecole Max Reinhardt à Vienne (Autriche)

Impressario?

Olga Horstig

Carrière au théâtre?

Antigone (Anouih), Cléopâtre (Shaw), La Voix Humaine (Cocteau), Comme Il Vous Plaîra (Shakespeare) et L’année du bac (Lacour)

Au cinema?

Das Nachtlokal zum Silbermond et une dizzaine de films en Autriche et en Allemagne, Masquerade, Casanova 70, Train d’Enfer et Objectif 500 Millions

A la television?

Grüne Kakadu

Vos trois roles préferés?

Casanova 70, Train d’Enfer, Objectif 500 Millions

Prix, Oscars?

pas encore

Vos joies professionnelles?

tourner

Vos ambitions?

jouer “Anna Karenine”

Vos étonnements?

rien ne m’étonne plus

Vos projects?

un film avec Peter Sellers

une comédie en Italie

deux films avec Mastroianni

Vos voyages?

Canada, Amérique du Sud, Afrique du Sud, Europe

ART ET LETTRES

Quels sont vos romanciers préférés?

Rilke et Balzac

L’ouvrage?

L’idiot de Dostoievsky

Les poètes?

Hugo, La Fontaine, Walter Von der Vogelweide

L’ouvrage poétiques?

La Tortue et les Deux Canards

Le philosophe?

Lao-Tsé

Les peintres?

Modigliani, Gaugain, Velasquez, Bosch, Breughel et Cézanne

La toile que vous admirez le plus?

“La Fille” de Modigliani

Vos compositeurs favoris?

Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, Haendel, Bruckner et Ravel

Les virtuoses?

Menuhin et Richter

Le chef d’orchestre?

Karajan

L’oeuvre musicale?

La 2e symphonie de Beethoven

L’instrument de musique?

piano

Les chanteurs?

Les Beatles

Les chanteuses?

Piaf et Barbra Streisand

Le disque?

Richter interpréte Schubert

Vous interessez-vous aux sciences?

les sciences spirituelles

Votre savant préféré?

Von Braun et Nietzsche

Le personage historique?

Elizabeth 1e et Napoléon

Le personage de fiction?

Vènus

A BOIRE ET A MANGER

Quel est votre aperitif préféré?

vodka

Le hors d’oeuvre?

blinis

La viande?

tournedos béarnaise

Le poisson?

sole grillée

Le crustacé?

calamari en su tinta

Le légume?

salade verte

Le fromage?

roquefort

Le fruit?

cerise

Le dessert?

café

La boisson?

bordeaux rouge

L’alcohol?

cognac

SCENE, ECRAN ET TELEVISION

Quels sont vos auteurs dramatiques préférés?

Dostoievsky, Shaw, Schiller, Cocteau et Molière

La piece de theater?

Beckett

Les réalisateurs de films?

Truffaut, Wilder et Bergman

Les films?

Jules et Jim, La Silence

Les acteurs français?

Gérard Philipe et Bruno Cremer

Les acteurs étrangers?

Mastroianni, Brando, Von Sydow, Trevor Howard

Les actrices françaises?

Bardot et Moreau

Les actrices étrangères?

Geraldine Page

Les comiques?

Darry Cowl, Jerry Lewis et Mastroianni

La salle de théâtre?

Schoenbrun Schloss Theater, Vienne, Austria

L’émission de television?

connais pas

Le présentateur?

connais pas

La speakerine?

connais pas

DES GOUTS ET DES COLEURS

Quelle est votre heurer préférée?

crépuscule

Le jour?

pas le lundi

Le mois?

pas février

La saison?

automne

La lettre?

M

Le ciffre?

2 millions de dollars

La couleur?

noir et blanc

Le parfum?

“Mademoiselle” de Venet

La fleur?

camélia

L’arbre?

le saule pleureur

La pierre?

emeraude

Le metal?

platine

Les bruits (naturels ou articificiele)?

Le vent

Le mammifère?

guépard

L’oiseau?

hibou

Le poisson?

dauphin

L’insecte?

libellule

Le magasin?

antiquaires

La ville étrangère?

Londres

Le pays étranger?

Espagne

La place, le monument ou quartier de Paris?

Montmartre

La periode historique?

Renaissance

Le style?

Renaissance

Le champions sportifs?

Glenn Robinson

(This questionnaire was first published on May 27th 1966 in the French movie magazine "Cinemonde", issue 1653)